Posh breakfast muffins

Serves 6

Frittata

• eggs 8

• crème fraîche 3 tbsp, plus extra for drizzling

• chives 3 tbsp, chopped, plus extra for garnishing

Muffins

• muffins 6

• watercress a handful

• avocado 1, sliced

• smoked salmon 6 slices

 

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

2. Whisk 8 eggs with 3 tbsp crème fraîche and 3 tbsp chopped chives, and season. Butter and line a 26cm x 18cm baking tin with baking paper.

3. Pour in the egg mixture and bake for 10 minutes or until set, then take out and leave to cool. You can now wrap and chill the frittata for 2-3 days until needed.

4. To assemble, re-warm the frittata in a low oven, then cut into 6 circles the same size as muffins with a round cutter (or alternatively cut into squares).

5. Toast and butter the muffins then add a little watercress, slices of avocado, a round of frittata, a few slices of smoked salmon and an extra drizzle of crème fraîche and chives.

 

 

 

 

 

Cranberry and almond muffins

Makes 10 (V)

• golden caster sugar 150g

• egg 1

• butter 125g, melted

• Greek yogurt 175ml

• orange 1, zested

• plain flour 200g

• baking powder 1 tsp

• ground almonds 100g

• fresh or frozen cranberries 100g, defrosted first if frozen

• flaked almonds 2 tbsp

 

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line one or two muffin tins with 10 muffin cases.

2. Whisk the sugar, egg, butter, yogurt and orange zest together.

3. Put the flour, baking powder and ground almonds in a bowl and mix in the cranberries. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix quickly to a thick batter (don’t worry if it’s a bit lumpy).

4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cases and sprinkle over the flaked almonds. Bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden.

5. Cool and store in an air tight tin – warm in oven just before serving

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy roast turkey crown

Serves 4-6

• 2kg turkey crown on the bone

• 3 oranges, 1 cut into wedges, ½ sliced, 1 ½ juiced

• 1 tbsp runny honey, plus extra for drizzling

• handful thyme sprigs, leaves picked from one, two left whole, plus sprigs to serve (optional)

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• 2 bay leaves

• 500g carrots, peeled and cut into long batons

• 500g parsnips, peeled and cut into long batons

 

 

1. Take your turkey crown out of the fridge 1-2 hrs before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Cut 4 slices from one of the oranges. Juice the rest of it along with another of the oranges. In a small bowl, stir the orange juice together with the honey and the picked thyme leaves, the soy sauce and a good grinding of black pepper. 

2. Loosen the skin over the turkey breast. Place two slices of orange, a bay leaf and thyme sprig under the skin, on both sides of the breast, then spoon in some of the juice mix and smooth the skin back over. Tip the orange wedges into a roomy roasting tin with the carrots and parsnips. Nestle the crown amongst the vegetables and oranges. Drizzle over about a third of the remaining orange juice mix and roast everything in the oven for 30 mins. Remove, give the veg a stir and drizzle over another third of the juice mix, then return to the oven and do that again one more time, roasting the turkey for a total of 1hr 30 mins (covering with foil halfway through if it begins to colour too much).

3. Remove the turkey from the roasting tin and place on a board covered with foil, then turn the oven up to 220C/200C fan/gas 8. Toss the veg in a drizzle of honey and put the tin back in the oven to caramelise the veg for 25-30 mins, leaving the turkey crown to rest. Serve the crown on a platter surrounded by the glazed roots, orange wedges and extra thyme sprigs, if you like. Remove the sticky skin from the breast before carving the meat to serve as a side.

 

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian wellington

Serves 8

• 500g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1cm dice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• small bunch sage, leaves finely chopped

• 2 shallots, finely chopped

• 500g closed cup mushrooms, chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed

• 150ml double cream

• 200g fresh breadcrumbs

• ½ tsp ground mace

• 150g cooked chestnuts, chopped

• whole nutmeg, for grating

• 500g block puff pastry

• plain flour, to dust

• 6-8 cooked beetroot (similar sized- about 400g)

• 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

• 1 tbsp sesame seeds or poppy seeds, to decorate

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the squash with 1 tbsp oil, half the sage and some seasoning. Tip onto a baking tray and roast for 25 mins until tender. 

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the shallots for 10 mins until tender. Add the mushrooms and fry for 15 mins until softened, and the liquid has evaporated.  

3. Add the garlic and remaining sage to the mushrooms, fry for a minute, then add the double cream. Stir until it coats the mushrooms and no liquid remains. Fold in the breadcrumbs, mace, chestnuts and roast squash. Season everything well, adding a grating of nutmeg. Leave to cool before assembling the wellington. 

4. Roll the pastry out on a floured work surface to a 35 x 45cm rectangle. Transfer to a large parchment-lined baking sheet with one of the long lengths of the pastry facing towards you. Spoon the mushroom and squash mixture down the length of the pastry, leaving a 7cm border along the top and 1cm on both sides. Brush all the exposed pastry with beaten egg.

5. Put the beetroots in a line down the middle of the filling – they should be touching. Fold the filling-covered, long length of the pastry over the beets, using the paper to help you. Roll up and trim the pastry with a knife when it’s overlapping by 1cm.

6. Place the wellington seal-side down, and pinch the ends to seal. Egg wash the whole thing and use a fork or blunt cutlery knife to score the pastry in a pretty pattern. Chill until for at least 30 mins, or up to 24 hrs. 

7. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the wellington with more beaten egg, sprinkle with the sesame or poppy seeds and bake for 45-50 mins until golden brown and puffed up. Leave to rest for 10 mins before carving into chunky slices with a sharp knife to serve. 

 

 

 

 

 

Salt-and-Pepper Charred Green Beans

10 servings

 

• 2 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

• Flaked salt

• Coarsely ground fresh black pepper

1. Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Toss green beans, oil, and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a bowl.

2. Add about a quarter of beans to the skillet and cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes, then toss and cook until charred and just tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a platter and repeat with remaining beans. Season with salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed mushroom stuffing

Serves 12 to 14 (V)

• 2 shallots

• 4 cloves of garlic

• 350 g mixed wild mushrooms

• 400 g closed cup or chestnut mushrooms

• ½ a bunch of fresh thyme

• 350 g stale bread

• 100 g pecans or hazelnuts

• 1 bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley

• 25 g dried porcini

• 80 ml olive oil

• 2 fresh bay leaves

1. Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic, and roughly chop all the fresh mushrooms. Pick the thyme leaves and tear the stale bread into small chunks.

2. Lightly toast the nuts in a dry frying pan, then roughly chop. Pick and roughly chop the parsley.

3. Cover the porcini with 300ml of boiling water and leave aside to rehydrate.

4. Heat the oil in a large, wide pan and add the shallot and garlic. Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes or until the shallot is softened but not coloured.

5. Drain the soaked porcini over a bowl, reserving the liquid. Add these and the rest of the mushrooms to the pan along with the bay and thyme leaves and cook until all the mushrooms are well softened. If they release a lot of liquid, pour it onto the diced bread and carry on cooking.

6. When the mushrooms are tender and browned, tip the mixture into a large bowl and leave to cool completely.

7. Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.

8. Once the cooked mushroom mixture has cooled, add the chunks of bread, a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, the pecans or hazelnuts and about half of the porcini’s reserved soaking liquid (make sure you pour it through a sieve first to stop any grit getting through). Combine well.

9. If the stuffing seems too dry, just add a little more of the reserved porcini liquid.

10. Add most of the parsley and stir it through then tip the stuffing into a lightly greased baking dish of approximately 20cm x 25cm and cover with foil.

11. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes. Scatter over the rest of the chopped parsley before serving.

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas pudding ice cream

Serves: 4

 

• 55g (2oz) pitted soft prunes 

• 100g (3½ oz) mixed dried fruit

• 300ml (10fl oz) cold tea

• 1tsp mixed spice

• ½ tsp each of ground cinnamon and ground ginger 

• Finely grated zest of ½ small orange  

• 120g pot low fat Devon custard 

• 140g (5oz) fat free, thick set yoghurt such as Greek yoghurt or Icelandic skyr

• 2 egg whites

 

 

1. Put the prunes and dried fruit in a small saucepan and cover with the cold tea. Stir in all the spices and orange zest. Simmer together for 5 minutes then leave to cool.

2. Drain the fruit and put the prunes and roughly half the dried fruit into a blender or food processor with the custard and blitz till smooth.

3. Transfer to a mixing bowl and fold in the remaining dried fruit and the yoghurt.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites into soft peaks and fold into the yoghurt mixture using a large metal spoon.

5. Transfer to a shallow, plastic freezer box and freeze for an hour.

6. Stir gently, mixing the frozen sides of the mixture into the middle and return to the freezer for a further hour, then repeat. The stirring helps the texture of the ice cream. Repeat the stirring until the ice cream is firm.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Christmas cake

Makes one large cake (12 slices) or 6 individual cakes

 

• 300ml (10½ fl oz) herbal tea (choose a “Christmassy” - flavoured herbal tea such as spiced apple, mulled fruits or gingerbread)

• 400g (14 oz) mixed dried fruit

• 225g (8oz) stoned dates

• 1 tbsp mixed spice

• 1 large ripe banana, about 140g (5oz)

• 115g (4oz) fine polenta

• 2 tsp baking powder (use gluten-free baking powder if you want the cake to be gluten-free)

• 2 large egg whites

• 1 tbsp brandy or dry sherry, optional

 

 

1. Heat the oven to 180C / 160C fan / gas mark 4. Line your chosen tin(s) with baking parchment.

2. Put the dried fruit in a large mixing bowl and pour in100ml (3½ fl oz) of the herbal tea. Leave to soak for an hour, stirring occasionally.

3. Put the dates, remaining 200ml (7fl oz) of herbal tea and the mixed spice into a small saucepan and simmer gently together for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

4. In a blender or food processor, puree the dates with the banana and 100ml (3½ fl oz) of the reserved liquid – remove this until smooth.

5. Transfer to a mixing bowl. Fold into the mixed dried fruit with the polenta and  baking powder.   

6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites into soft peaks and fold into the fruit mixture using a large metal spoon. Spoon into the lined cake tins.

7. Bake for 45 minutes for individual cakes or 1hour -1½ hours for a large tin. Cover lightly with foil after 30 minutes. A skewer pushed into the centre of the cake should come out clean when it's cooked. Drizzle the brandy or sherry over the hot cake, if using, then leave to cool in the tins on a wire rack. 

8. Decorate the top of the cake with a spiral of dried apple slices and some herbs and holly